Danielle Laraque-Arena Will Step Down As President of the Upstate Medical University
Danielle Laraque-Arena, the first woman president of the Upstate Medical University in Syracuse, New York, has announced she is stepping down, effective at the end of this semester. She will return to a full-time faculty position in June 2019.
Maurice Edington Named Provost at Historically Black Florida A&M University
Dr. Edington had been serving as vice president of the Division of Strategic Planning Analysis and Institutional Effectiveness at the university since February 2017. Prior to that, he served as the university's founding dean of the College of Science and Technology from 2013 to 2017.
Kmt Shockley Appointed Executive Director of the Center for African American Research and Policy
Dr. Shockley has been serving as an associate professor of educational leadership and policy studies at Howard University in Washington, D.C. Earlier he was an associate professor of urban educational leadership at Morgan State University in Baltimore.
Vann Newkirk Named Provost at Historically Black Fisk University in Nashville
Dr. Newkirk most recently served as provost and vice chancellor for academic affairs and as a professor of history at Elizabeth City State University in North Carolina. Prior to that, he served as associate provost and dean of the graduate school at Alabama A&M University.
Byron Hughes Named Dean of Students at Virginia Tech
Dr. Hughes began his career at Virginia Tech in 2008 as the assistant director for student conduct. Since 2013, he has been serving as the university's director of fraternity and sorority life. Prior to coming to Blacksburg, he worked in residential life positions at Ball State University in Muncie, Indiana, and Salisbury University in Maryland.
The Persistent Racial Income Gap Hinders Black Access to Higher Education
In 2017, the median Black family income was 59.1 percent of the median income for White families. With only minor fluctuations, the racial gap in median income has remained virtually unchanged for nearly a half century.
Ben Vinson Is the New Chair of the National Humanities Center
The center, in Research Triangle Park, North Carolina, is a nonprofit institute dedicated to advanced study in the humanities. Dr. Vinson is the provost and executive vice president of Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio.
African Scholar William Abraham Honored With a Portrait at Oxford University
William Abraham is a professor of philosophy emeritus at the University of California, Santa Cruz. In 1959, Professor Abraham became the first African scholar to win a Prize Fellowship at All Souls College at Oxford University in England. Today, he remains the only African to ever win the prestigious award.
Lawrence D. Bobo Named Dean of Social Sciences at Harvard University
Dr. Bobo currently serves as the W.E.B. Du Bois Professor of the Social Sciences and chair of the department of African American Studies. He has been a Harvard faculty member since 1997. Earlier, he taught at UCLA and Stanford University.
Two African American Women Appointed to Dean Positions at Universities
Shetina M. Jones has been appointed dean of students at Wilberforce University in Wilberforce, Ohio, and Juline E. Mills has been named dean of the College of Education, Health, and Human Services at Westfield State University in Massachusetts.
George Walker, Educator and a Giant of the Music Industry, Dies at Age 96
Dr. Walker composed nearly 100 pieces over his lifetime. One of his most famous is Lyric for Strings which was inspired by the death of his grandmother, a former slave. In 1996, he became the first African American recipient of the Pulitzer Price for Music.
Paulette Dillard Named the Eighteenth President of Shaw University in Raleigh, North Carolina
Dr. Dillard had been serving as interim president of Shaw University since June 2017. Previously, she was the vice president of academic affairs and dean of the College of Arts and Sciences at the university. Dr. Dillard is a trained medical technologist certified by the American Society of Clinical Pathology.
Clark Atlanta University’s Ronald E. Mickens Wins the 2018 Blackwell-Tapia Prize
Dr. Mickens is the Distinguished Fuller E. Callaway Professor in the department of physics at Clark Atlanta University. He is being honored for being a role model for mathematical scientists and students from underrepresented groups.
The Slow Progress of African American Enrollments at Flagship State Universities
A research team at UCLA found that the number of Black students enrolled at prestigious, public universities was either stagnant or declined over the past 40 years. They found that across the country, Black student enrollments at these top state-operated universities were not reflective of the Black population in that particular state.
Tavarez Holston Appointed President of Georgia Piedmont Technical College in DeKalb
Since 2013, Dr. Holston has served as vice president for academic affairs at Lanier Technical College in Oakwood, Georgia. He holds a master's degree in leadership and organizational effectiveness from Troy University in Alabama and a doctorate in higher education leadership from Valdosta State University in Georgia.
Sylvester James Gates to Lead the American Physical Society
Dr. Gates, Ford Foundation Professor at Brown University, has been named to the presidential line of the American Physical Society, a nonprofit organization that represents more than 55,000 physicists worldwide. Dr. Gates will serve as vice president in 2019, president-elect in 2020, and president in 2021.
The New Leader of Arkansas Baptist College in Little Rock
Regina Favors has been serving as president and CEO of Pinnacle Business Solutions, a subsidiary of Arkansas Blue Cross Blue Shield. Previously, she had worked for the Federal Bureau of Investigation and has taught as an adjunct professor at Arkansas Baptist College.
Gloria Gibson to Be Inaugurated as the Seventh President of Northeastern Illinois University
Before being named president at Northeastern Illinois University, Dr. Gibson was senior vice president for academic affairs and provost at Morgan State University in Baltimore. Earlier, she was a professor of communication and executive vice president and provost at the University of Northern Iowa.
Penn State’s Michael Adewumi Appointed to Leadership Post at IES Abroad
Dr. Adewumi, currently vice provost for global programs at Pennsylvania State University, will lead all of the not-for-profit's more than 360 academic programs, offered at more than 30 locations around the world, for more than 9,000 students a year.
The Noisy Controversy Over Silent Sam
Last week the Silent Sam statue honoring soldiers who fought for the Confederacy on the campus of the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill’s was torn down by protestors during a rally. But it appears that the controversy is far from over.
Paula McClain Will Lead the American Political Science Association
Paula D. McClain, dean of the Graduate School at Duke University in Durham, North Carolina, has been named the next president of the American Political Science Association. She will serve as president-elect for the 2018-2019 academic year and then as president for the following year.
The Growing Racial Gap in Home Ownership Rates and its Impact on Higher Education
The Black home ownership rate in the second quarter of 2018 was less than the rate in the second quarter of 1994, nearly a quarter century ago. This impacts the ability of Black families to finance the higher education of their children.
Mark Dean Is the New Leader of the College of Engineering at the University...
Professor Dean, who holds three of the nine patents in the earliest development of the personal computer, joined the faculty at the University of Tennessee in 2013. Earlier, he was chief technology officer for the Middle East and Africa for IBM.
Wanda Austin Is the New Leader of the University of Southern California
From 2008 to 2016, Dr. Austin was president and CEO of The Aerospace Corporation, an independent nonprofit organization dedicated to the application of science and technology relating to the nation's space program. She was the first woman and the first African American to serve as CEO of the organization since its founding in 1961.
Texas Southern University’s Charles McClelland to Lead the Southwest Athletic Conference
Dr. Charles McClelland, director of athletics at Texas Southern University in Houston is stepping down from his post after 10 years to become commissioner of the Southwestern Athletic Conference. He holds a doctorate in higher education administration from Texas A&M University.
Marion Fedrick Appointed President of Albany State University in Georgia
Marion Fedrick has served as interim president since January. Before being named interim president, Fedrick had been serving as interim executive vice president at Albany State. Earlier, she was vice chancellor for human resources at the University System of Georgia.
The New President of Kingsborough Community College in Brooklyn
A native of St. Croix in the U.S. Virgin Islands, Claudia V. Schrader was appointed president of Kingsborough Community College in Brooklyn, New York. Dr. Schrader has been serving as provost and senior vice president for academic and student success at Bronx Community College.
Is Saint Augustine’s University on the Ropes?
Recently, a published report stated that trustees of the university feared that the university was on the verge of closure. But President Everett Ward stated that he is confidant that the university will be able to show the accrediting body that the university is back on the right track.
Johnnie L. Early II Named Dean of the College of Pharmacy at Florida A&M...
For the past 18 years, Dr. Early has been dean at the College of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences at the University of Toledo in Ohio. Earlier in his career, Dr. Early was an assistant professor of pharmacy at Florida A&M University.
Donna H. Oliver Named Provost at Edward Waters College in Jacksonville, Florida
Dr. Oliver is the former president of Mississippi Valley State University. Earlier, she served as provost and vice president for academic affairs at Edward Waters College and vice president for academic affairs at Bennett College in Greensboro, North Carolina. She has also been on the faculty at Elon University in North Carolina.
Levi Thompson to Be the Next Dean of College of Engineering at the University...
Dr. Thompson is currently the Richard E. Balzhiser Collegiate Professor of Chemical Engineering at the University of Michigan. He also serves as the director of the Hydrogen Energy Technology Laboratory at the university.
College of Charleston Drops, Then Reinstates, a “Second Look” for Applicants of Color
In 2016, the admissions office at the College of Charleston in South Carolina discontinued the practice of conducting an additional review of applications from students of color who were not initially recommended for admission. That "second look" has now been reinstated.
Three African American Men to Be Inducted Into the National Academy of Engineering
Two of the three new Black members of the National Academy of have current academic affiliations. They are Lynden A. Archer, the James Friend Family Distinguished Professor of Engineering at Cornell University and Gary S. May, the chancellor of the University of California, Davis.
Claudine Gay Named Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences at Harvard University
Dr. Gay is the Wilbur A. Cowett Professor of Government and of African and African American Studies and is the founding chair of Harvard’s Inequality in America Initiative. She joined the faculty in 2006 and has served as dean of social science for the Faculty of Arts and Sciences since 2015.
Heidi Anderson Appointed the 16th President of the University of Maryland Eastern Shore
Since September 2017, Dr. Anderson has been special advisor to the president of Texas A&M University-Kingsville. She served as provost and vice president for academic affairs there from 2015 to 2017.
Florida State University to Remove Name of Segregationist Judge From Its Law School
President John Thrasher will recommend to the legislature that the name of the B.K. Roberts College of Law be changed. Roberts was a founder of the law school and was a member of the Florida Supreme Court. He wrote several pro-segregation opinions during the 1950s.
